


Holiday Cheer and all that Jazz

by Tertia_Quinn



Series: Dreaming My Dreams With You [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-01-03 14:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21180731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tertia_Quinn/pseuds/Tertia_Quinn
Summary: The Holidays are Hectic even more so when you're part of the Hargreeves Clan. This is a one-shot set of Holiday stories set in my What Dreams may come universe.





	1. This is Halloween

“Five,” Vanya called from behind the bathroom door as she shimmied into the top part of her costume. “Would you please grab Emma and make sure she's ready? Allison is going to be here any minute and I still haven't finished getting ready myself.”

Five pushed himself back from his computer, sighed and rubbed his blurry eyes in exasperation. He'd been dreading this day for months now. It wasn't that he didn't love his family, because he did. In fact, he loved them enough to turn the entire world on its head and risk the end of everything to keep them alive. He just loved them all a little bit more, when they were in their own houses and not spending large amounts of time cooped up together in his. 

Twelve had just turned three this year and according to Vanya, and all the child development books, she insisted they read _(What a crock, his daughter was way too special and intelligent to be categorized with all the basic and normal babies)_, it would probably be one of the first years she would actually be able to look back on and remember the holidays. He had intended to spend this Halloween taking her trick or treating with Vanya, probably indulging in too much candy then spending a relatively quiet and happy evening at home, alone with his girls. 

Then Vanya had gotten the call from Allison, who in turn talked to Diego and suddenly Five's plans of a quiet and pleasant evening had evaporated, only to be replaced with a family event, where he was required to be civil and in costume. Pfft, he fully intended to hide until they were running late and there was no time for him to get into said costume. 

“Addy, Addy, look!!” A high pitched, little voice cried, demanding his attention and filling him with dread. His tiny daughter stood at the very top of the stairs, her amber eyes blazing with excitement and determination, through the holes in the batgirl mask she now sported proudly on her face. Her hands were fisted and placed on her hips in a classic superhero pose... 

_(Number Five, your pride will be your downfall. Flashy poses and irreverent quips are a fast way of getting yourself or one of your siblings killed.)_

“I batgirl!” she declared loudly to the room around her and pulling him out of the memory. “I fly like they do on TV.” she bent her knees and Five felt his heart literally stop as she jumped and threw her little body down over the rails.

Reacting faster than he even believed possible, he wrenched himself into a teleport then managed to catch her just inches before she hit the ground.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” he breathed, hugging her close, his heart making up for the stop and going a thousand miles a minute.

Twelve, for her part not knowing anything was wrong, began to squirm and wriggle, grunting in frustration and anger that her plan hadn't succeeded and gone the way she wanted. 

“Own, Addy.” she demanded, squirming and determined to get out of his hold and try again.

“Own.”

“Give me a minute, you little monster,” he said, pulling her closer and closing his eyes. “You scared me to death.” 

She grunted then looked up into his face, tilting her head to the side.

“Addy scared?” she asked, her little hand coming up to pat the side of his cheek. 

“Yes, Daddy very scared.” he told her seriously, “You nearly gave him a heart attack.” 

Her bottom lip wobbled and her amber eyes began to fill with tears. Five felt his heart melt.

“Sorry, Addy,” she whimpered, throwing her arms around his neck and trying to cuddle him. “Sorry.”

“I know you are, baby.” he comforted, kissing the side of her head. “You just have to be more careful. Daddy doesn't know what he’d do if something happened to you.”

She nodded against his neck and he sat her on his hip and began to make his way up the stairs, his mind moving 60 miles a second as he assessed and dismissed several different scenarios in which he could make sure she didn't somehow manage to find her way around the child proofing gates that were meant to guard and protect her from incidents like this again.

Five snorted. As if his Daughter could be discouraged by some silly metal gating that was mounted to the wall with screws. Twelve might be all Vanya in looks, but her mind, well... that was all him. He smirked, a smug smirk, then bounced her on his hip, causing her to giggle excitedly as he walked them towards the bathroom, where Vanya was still held up getting ready. 

He grabbed the door handle and was about to open it, when Vanya grabbed the other side and pulled it shut. “Don’t you dare I'm not ready yet!” He smirked and tried the knob again. 

“You know this door can’t really keep me out right?” He said amusement filling his voice.

“It will, if you don't want to be sleeping on the couch for the next week. Besides, you need to get ready yourself. Don't think I'm not on to you and your ‘wait until we have to leave and I won’t have to change’ plan. Your costume is waiting for you on the bed. Take Emma and help her finish getting ready and then you go change.”

“Damn.” he winced, she’d figured him out. 

“I mean it, Five!” she called through the door again. “You had better be ready by the time I’m done here.” 

“Vanya, I will literally go back in time, find Antonio Stradivari and have him make you a customized violin if you don't make me put on that...monstrosity.”

“A real Stradivarius ...?” she asked, her voice heavy with indecision.

“Uh-huh,” he tempted, his voice going gravely, in the way he knew she liked. “I’d even have the man sign it for you, if you want. Just imagine it...you’d be the only person alive with a real customized and signed Stradivarius, made by the man himself.”

She was seconds away from giving in and he knew he had her, but then he heard _it…_

_ **Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister~** _

The sounds of the Ring Tone Vanya had playfully selected for their sister, filled the air and he cursed. 

“Five, go put the costume on.” She ordered and he heard the beep signaling she had answered her phone. 

“Hi Allison, yeah, no we’ll be there soon. We’re still getting ready...uh-huh, no he didn't. Well, you made him get into it, didn't you?” She gave an amused laugh. “Are you kidding? No? He's to the point of trying to bribe me now.”

Five sighed then bounced Twelve on his hip again and made his way back to her room. 

“Come on, Lil bit," he told her. “Mommy’s spoken and Daddy doesn't relish the idea of sleeping on the couch tonight so it’s off to get you ready we go.” He bounced her on his hip again then pulled her to her room and helped her put on the rest of her Batgirl outfit. He then placed her on the couch in front of the TV with some juice and a cartoon that was happily causing her to chant about swiping things? Then went to inspect his... “Costume” And yes he used mental finger quotes around the word. It was something he was sure Diego was going to be envious of. 

Black body armor stood out starkly against a red leather shirt and black leather pants. Black combat boots and some weird thing he was guessing fit over his eye? It was all topped off with a pretty accurate replica of a heavily modified Glock. He held it up to the light examining it and marveling at the fact that something plastic could have such good sites.

Sighing he put the “gun” on the bed and began to slip into the pants. He had just managed to get the shirt on when he heard the door to the bedroom open and he turned to find Vanya standing in the doorway and froze as his brain short-circuited. Her hair was in pigtails the ends both dyed, one blue the other one red. The barely-there t-shirt she was wearing sported several holes and the fishnet stockings that disappeared into the red and blue sequined hot pants caused something primal and wild to rise up inside of him demanding that he lock the door pull her to the bed and spend the rest of the evening doing more pleasurable things than the party and trick or treating she and Allison had planned. His face must have shown some of his thoughts because her crimson-stained mouth turned up at the corners in a sly smile. He watched, his heart racing in anticipation, as she began to move towards him thwacking the metal bat against her palm with each step.

Smiling, she stopped in front of him, tilted her head, then brought her finger up to run it down his right cheek. "You seem tense,” she told him, her amber eyes wide with false innocence, “Maybe I can…" Their daughter chose that exact moment to fly into their room and throw herself at her mother's legs.

"Mama, Mama look, I batgirl." she cried cheerfully pulling back from her and posing. 

"You are?" Vanya exclaimed in surprise making her eyes go big as she bent down and scooped her up into a hug. "Well, it's a good thing I know your weakness isn't it. Otherwise, I’d have to be really careful so you don't catch me."

"No weakness," she exclaimed her little face screwing up into an affronted expression that was so like the one Five used that Vanya couldn't help but laugh. "I Batgirl!" She exclaimed indignantly. "I FLY!" Suddenly there was a blue flash and both Vanya and Five stood stunned as Twelve disappeared from Vanya’s arms. 

"Shit," Five cursed pretty sure he knew where she’d gone. The smell of Ozone filled the room as he jumped and Vanya dropped her bat making her way out of their bedroom as fast as she could. 

"Emma!" Vanya called petrified. Sure enough, Twelve was climbing over the railing and getting ready to jump again. Five appeared at that exact second and realized he had just enough time to wrench himself into another teleport and catch her inches before she hit the ground.

“Shit,” he whispered “just….shit.” His arms were shaking and he was breathing heavily as adrenaline coursed through his body and he pulled her tighter against his chest. 

“_Well Hell,_” he thought as Vanya practically flew down the stairs. She pulled Twelve away from him and up into her own arms eyes wild and ringed in white as she alternated between hugging Twelve close and demanding she _Never_ do anything like that _Ever_ again. Giving a hysterical laugh Five pushed his hand back through his hair. There wouldn't be any hope for it now. Their daughter had figured out how to use the powers she'd inherited from him. She could jump anywhere she wanted. Metal gates and child proofing locks weren’t going to cut it anymore. Vanya was full out crying by this point, and Twelve was nodding along to her angry words her amber eyes big and full of tears but obviously not quite understanding what she’d done wrong. 

Sighing, Five moved over, kissed Vanya's forehead and smoothed his hand down the back of Twelves'. 

“Well,” he stated flatly. “We knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Better it was here and now when we were both home than if we were out and had left her with a babysitter.” 

“I was hoping we had…”

** _Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister~_ **

Vanya’s phone went off interrupting her and Five cursed as she reached into the pocket of the dual-colored jacket she was wearing. She hit the call reject button sending it straight to voicemail then turned back to Five.

“We’re going to have to…..”

_ **Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister~** _

** _Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister~_ **

** _Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister~_ **

Five cursed then grabbed the phone up and slammed his finger on the answer button. "Ally now is really not the time for ...What…..What do you mean Claire just rumored Luther into believing he’s a Gorilla?" Vanya could hear the Hysterical tones of her sister on the other end of the phone and Five’s eyes went wide. "Well, why don’t you just rumor him back…. Alright...Alright, Ally...Ally... ALISON!! Calm down we’ll be there soon. Yes...yes you do that. Try to keep him in your yard. We’re leaving now I promise." He hesitated for just a second and then his voice went soft. "It’s going to be okay Ally," he promised, "...Because it's us. I know because it's us." He pressed the end call button then turned to Vanya. "We have to go," he told her moving back to their room and grabbing his keys and the rest of his costume. "Apparently Twelve isn’t the only one who's decided to manifest tonight."

"Claire?" Vanya asked, bouncing Twelve on her hip as the little girl laid her head on her shoulder and fussed a bit. 

"Uh-huh," Five answered his lips twitching as he fought to keep back the smile that was threatening to break out from crossing them. "Luther put on his costume and poor Claire got scared and called him a gorilla...He’s...Ally said he’s swinging from their chandelier." 

"What??" Vanya demanded. "Why hasn't Allison rumored him back?"

"She says she tried. Unfortunately, it’s not working."

"How can it not…"

"I don’t know." He interrupted her. "It sounds like Claire’s powers might be slightly different than Allison’s."

They made their way out of the house and to his car where Vanya belted Twelve into her car seat. Getting out of the backseat she moved to the passenger’s side slid into the seat put on her own seatbelt and they were off. 

When they finally drove up to Allison’s, chaos was erupting Diego (who was dressed in his vigilante outfit with two swords on his back and a black and orange full face mask resting on his head) had managed to arrive before them and he was standing in the doorway while Allison yelled and his cop fiance stood off to the side gripping his arm stopping him from charging in and making the situation any worse. Another car drove up and Klaus and Ben got out arguing they too were dressed in costumes. They brought their own special brand of chaos to every situation and Five winced as he realized the situation if possible was about to go from bad to worse.

He got out of the car helped Vanya with Twelve then made his way up the walk where he promptly shoved Diego out of the way so he could see. 

“Shit,” he cursed in disbelief. Allison hadn't been exaggerating. Luther really was swinging off of the chandelier and grunting like a Gorilla. Five pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as memories of a different life (one that he had thankfully not been forced to live) rose up and hit him like a freight train. Memories that he alone carried now and really in the grand scheme of things that was for the best. He marveled at fates workings and wondered if this was it’s way of keeping score. Was Luther destined to hold some aspect of the Monkey no matter what Five had done to change things? Was it either mind or body and if that were the case what did that say about the others. Shaking himself free of these morbid thoughts he looked back towards the door where Vanya was holding their daughter close and peaking around Diego’s protective shoulder. Five gave her a tremulous smile. This was their second chance and he wasn't going to let fate, the universe, or anything else screw it up for them. 

“So how long has he been like this?” he asked a teary Allison who was holding a laughing two year old Claire close to her chest.

“A little over an hour she answered. He came out dressed in his costume and Claire just…”

“Gorilla Gorilla,” Claire exclaimed happily clapping her hands and interrupting her mother. “Unka Figh. Da is Gorilla.”

“I see that you little monster.” He said walking over to Allison and tweaking the toddler’s nose. “Now how bout you give your mom a break and change him back.”

“Back?” She asked looking at him with uncomprehending eyes. 

“Yes back,” Five answered seriously. “You don't want your Daddy to be a Gorilla forever do you? You have to change him back so we can go trick or treating tonight. Don't you want to go trick or treating with Twelve and the rest of us and get candy? We can't go anywhere if your Daddy thinks he's a Monkey.”

“Welg’s here?" She asked her eyes going bright with excitement. 

“Yup,” Five said, “she’s right outside with your Auntie Vanya and the sooner you change your Daddy back the sooner you can go see her.” 

“Kay!” she squealed in excitement then turned to Luther who was still swinging from the ceiling. "Da you be Da," she said screwing her little face up in concentration.

Five could see it the second that human intelligence came back to his brother’s eyes. Luther immediately stopped mid-swing and dropped to the floor like a stone.

“Wha...What happened?” he asked, blinking his eyes several times. "How did you all get here so fast you’re not supposed to be here for another hour at least?"

Diego snorted. "I think I liked him better the other way. It was an improvement."

Eudora (That was her name Five made a note to try and remember it) smacked Diego on the back of the head. Allison ignored him and made her way to Luther. She started explaining to him what had happened. 

"So her powers have manifested,” Luther sighed, his brow lowering in worry.

“Yeah,” Five said, making his way back over to Vanya. He settled his arm around her and pulled her into his side. “It seems to be the night for that.” 

“What do you mean?” Luther asked looking up from Allison. 

“It means exactly what it sounds like. Twelve decided to prove she could fly like the Bat-people on TV by teleporting to the top of the stairs and jumping off. Fortunately, I was able to get to her before she hit the ground but the fact remains... Their powers are manifesting. We knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Welp, it’s happened. Time's up kids and now we have to start preparing." Five started explaining.

Luther winced and turned back to Allison who was cradling Claire close and uncharacteristically biting her lip in worry.

"We still have some time." Vanya said interrupting her husband’s speech and causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Not about teaching them when and where not to use their powers, the sooner we do that the better, that goes without saying. But we have time, Emma was at least 16 when she first showed up and the twins haven’t even been born yet. So yes we have to help them learn about their powers but we have a little more time before we need to start worrying about the commission." 

Five flinched and Vanya immediately brought her free hand up to his cheek where she smoothed her thumb across the bone.

“How do we even do that," Allison asked. "They’re babies. They don’t understand yet. How do we get them to understand it’s not okay to just...rumor Mommy or Daddy into giving them what they want? How are you going to keep Twelve from just jumping anywhere she wants?” 

"By being the parent, Allison." Five answered. "You said it yourself they’re just babies. We do it the same way people have been parenting since the beginning of time. We explain it to them, correct them when they inevitably screw up then hope for the best. It’s all we can do."

“That’s really easy for you to say Five,” Luther snorted. “You weren't the one swinging from the ceiling.”

“No," Five shot back, his voice full of cooled frustration as he pulled Vanya tighter to his side, "I was just the one who had to catch his daughter before she cracked her head open on the floor, twice." He kept his voice even and looked at Luther with derision in his expression, "All things considered, I think you got off easy."

"Besides," Klaus said from the couch where he’d been sitting with Ben.. "You’re not in this alone there are 7 of us and only 2 of them." 

“Three.” Eudora piped up for the first time all night bighting her lip and locking her brown eyes to Diego's. "There are going to be three of them soon.” 

Diego, who had been sitting on the arm of the chair she was resting on, promptly fell off and stared up at her in disbelief. 

“What,” he asked his eyes as wide as saucers. "What?”

“Yeah,” she answered solemnly. “I was late and took a test, turns out I’m pregnant ..Surprise."

“Seriously,” he asked a grin starting to break out across his face.

“Uh-huh,” she answered a hesitant smile blooming across her own 

“You’re pregnant?” he asked again. 

“I’m pregnant,” Diego leaped to his feet and pulled her up into his arms “We’re going to have a kid.” 

“I know it’s not the greatest time and you wanted to wait until you got out of the academy before we had the wedding but… are you happy?" she asked her voice trembling.

“Am I happy? Eudora, we’re going to have a kid. YES, I’m happy! Guys, Guys," Diego said eyes shining, "I’m going to be a Dad!! We’re going to have a kid." She laughed as he caught her up in a hug again and spun her then freaked out about whether it was okay for him to be spinning her when she was pregnant or not. Congratulations were given all around as general excitement filled the air. 

“Three of them and seven of us then,” Klaus corrected himself with a happy smile. “We still outnumber them by Four.” He smirked at the word play and Luther frowned. 

“This isn't a game, Klaus,” he growled, “There’s nothing funny about it. I just spent the last hour swinging from the ceiling. Our kids have powers and they’re using them.”

Five zoned out for a second, those memories rising up in his mind again, and suddenly it was as if Luther as he was in the other timeline had superimposed himself over the current version.

_“Dad sent me to the moon,”_ he declared and Five had to shake his head for things to settle back down to normal. Vanya looked at him worriedly and he just shook his head at her silently.

“Well yeah, Luther, what did you expect them to do? Not use them? They’re babies. Of course they’re going to use them. We sure as Hell did. I seem to remember you breaking several refrigerators trying to get to the ice cream and then claiming the fairies did it. And that's not even going into the shit Five and Allison pulled. Did you really think any kids we had would be different? Hell we had a front row seat when Older Teenie (his nickname for Twelve) and Claire-bear from the future showed up. Or did you forget that little fact? I, for one, will never forget the look on Dad’s face when he realized that not only were his plans for our future trashed but Ben and Vanya had been planning our escape for months right under his nose.” Klaus explained to him.

“I didn’t forget,” Luther growled with a frown still not one hundred percent okay with they way they had left. “It doesnt change the fact that we’re going to have to do something though. They can't just..”

“I just told you what we’re going to do,” Five interrupted barely keeping his contempt in check. “It’s called parenting Luther. We signed up for it when we decided to pass our genes on and have kids. Or did you not get the memo on that?

“Alright,” Vanya interrupted knowing that a fight was about to break out if she didn't do something quick. “It’s starting to get late and it’s Halloween. Emma isn't going to miss the first one she can remember because you guys wanted to fight. I’m taking my daughter trick or treating now with or without you. So you guys can all just suck it up and come with us then join us back at the house for the party Ally and I have planned. Or you can stay here and argue.” She turned to five and cocked an eyebrow at him. “It's your choice but I suggest you make it wisely.”

Five smirked. “I love it when you take charge,” he snickered. “Yeah no, My goddess has spoken we’re out.”

He turned and followed her out the front door as Klaus made a whipping sound and motion with his hand but got up himself as Ben stood up and made his way towards the door.

“Well I guess I’ll see you all back at Five and Vanya’s,” Ben said then pulled Klaus out the door behind him.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of doorbells and candy with both Twelve and Claire running up and down the sidewalks on a sugar rush getting many compliments and being all around adorable. 

Afterwards, as things were winding down and his siblings and family were all camped out in different positions around his living room, Five couldn't help but take a moment to be glad they hadn't turned out the way their other versions had. He watched as Diego leaned over and whispered something to Eudora that had her blushing scarlet then leaned back in his seat smugly. He must have felt Five’s eyes on him because he looked up at that second and met them. He gave a hesitant nod in acknowledgement and Five smirked back turning his eyes to Klaus and Ben who were sprawled out together on his couch and lastly to Allison and Luther. They were having what looked like a heated discussion and Five narrowed his eyes at them as Vanya walked right up to him and unceremoniously plopped herself down in his lap. She snuggled up against him and he raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Comfortable?” he asked his blue eyes sparkling.

“Very,” she answered happily then wriggled around a bit causing him to cough and wrap his arms around her to keep her still. 

“Are you trying to kill me?” he whispered and she snickered then hid her face in his neck. 

“Maybe~” she sing songed back and wrapped her arms around his chest resting against him. Twelve toddled up to them her hands sticky with an open piece of candy in her hand.

“Up, Addy up,” she demanded then used his pants leg to climb up beside her mother when he wasn't fast enough for her liking. She promptly shoved the open bit of melted chocolate into his mouth and grinned.

“Happy Halloween Five,” Vanya snickered pulling Twelve into her arms kissing her head and leaning back against him.

“Happy Halloween Vanya,” he managed to choke out around the candy piece. And all things considered, it was a happy Halloween indeed. 


	2. Super Turkey/Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This chapter goes back in time. A time before the Hargreeves kids had children of their own. A time when they first became freed of their father's clutches. It goes to their first Thanksgiving after escaping Hargreeves Manor."

“_Suuuuuuuuper Turkey he always gets away, Suuuuuuuper Turkey he always gets away~”_

“Klaus...I swear to god, if you don’t shut up, I'm going to take this knife and shove it so far up your ass, the Doctor who pulls it out is going to be made King of England! ” Five snapped as he wiped his eye on his right shoulder then went back to chopping the onions. 

“Be sure you use the sharp end,” Diego mumbled, his eyes focused on the potato he was being forced to peel. "Something tells me he’d enjoy the blunt one too much."

“That’s really hurtful you guys,” Klaus said, his mouth twitching, barely keeping the smile from his lips. “I can’t help it if I’m excited. This is the first Thanksgiving we’ve ever had. Dad’s not here to spoil it for us, so I intend to fully enjoy it. If I feel like singing a song, then I’m damn well going to sing." He opened his mouth and started in on another chorus, making it as off-key and loud as he possibly could. 

“_Suuuuuuuuper Turkey he always gets away-ya ya yaaaagh-- _OUCH! JESUS! Diego…"

The knife Diego had been so focused on, while separating the brown vegetables from their peels, was now lodged into the middle of their second-hand table, the handle still vibrating from the force of his throw. Klaus looked down and whined. A thin, and barely there, scratch lined the back of his hand.

“Fuck Diego, that hurt. You didn’t have to throw things I was just--”

“The next one goes in your hand and I guarantee you, it's going to hurt a lot worse than the little scratch I just gave you." He tossed the partially peeled potato back on the table and jumped up. "Why are we stuck doing this anyway? How did we get volunteered for vegetable duty?”

“You would prefer we had to make the Turkey? Pretty sure we got off easy. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad they didn’t trust us with it.” Klaus replied. 

“You’re not even peeling anything." Diego protested in outrage. “All you’re doing is singing that revolting song and wiggling your butt to it around the dining room.”

“It’s called dancing and it’s not revolting, it’s festive. Besides, we can’t all be giant sticks in the mud like you, Deigo. Some of us enjoy having fun.”

“Dancing?” He asked, his eyes going wide in disbelief. “You call this…” he spread his hands wide and made exaggerated gestures towards Klaus with them. “Dancing!? I don't know exactly what this is but it sure as Hell isn't dancing!"

“Well who died and made you the expert on dancing you thin--”

"Both of you, shut up!" Five interrupted in exasperation as he abandoned the onions and pulled the paring knife out of the table. Shit, it had left a fairly deep mark. Vanya was going to be pissed.

She had been so proud when she'd shown him the mess of a table she’d somehow managed to find at a yard sale.

_“It’s solid oak,” she said bouncing on her toes, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “And it’s big enough to sit all seven of us. The original owner didn’t know what he had.”_

_Five looked at her dubiously then turned back to examine the table. It was a mess of scratches and peeling wood and try as he might, he hadn’t been able to see what she saw in the old thing. _

_“I’ll get you a new one” he tried. “One that’s in way better shape and…” He could literally see her face fall. It was ugly as sin but she’d wanted it and in that moment, he’d have done anything to see the excited sparkle back in her eyes so he’d smiled, told her she was right, that this one had character, that it fit them, and then helped her drag the thing around a corner so he could jump it and her back home._

_She’d had spent months reading books and watching youtube videos at the library. Learning all she could on how to restore it, and then finally sanding and smoothing out the surface. It was her masterpiece and in the end, he admitted she'd been right. The thing actually did seem to fit them. It really did have character. _

"Idiot,” Five said, running his thumb along the impression as if that would magically make it disappear. “It's left a mark."

Diego winced, a guilty look settling across his face. They all knew how proud Vanya was of that table. 

"Can you fix it before they decide to come get us?" he asked, his voice reflecting the guilt in his face. “Maybe she won't notice?"

“Can I fix--Diego, it's Thanksgiving! Literally, the first one we've ever had. Vanya and Allison have been planning this dinner for months. There's no way she's not going to notice it. You remember how long it took her to restore it. They plan on eating in a few hours. There’s nothing I can do."

“Well, can't you like.. Travel back in time or something?”

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" Five asked angrily as he smoothed his thumb across the knife impression again. "What part of ‘there's nothing I can do about it’ don't you understand?"

"Maybe we can cover it up and then fix it before anyone notices like...we could put a vase over it." Klaus suggested then winced when Five turned incredulous eyes on him. 

"Because you know ...we definitely know how to fix tables.” He replied, sarcasm coating his words. “And we can definitely do it before anyone notices."

"Well, we all watched Vanya do it..how hard could it be?" Diego blurted out. 

"How hard…” Five gaped at him in disbelief. He stood there for a minute then closed his eyes in obvious pain and started audibly counting backward from ten. "You know, there are times when I somehow actually manage to forget just how stupid you all can still be.” He opened his eyes and pushed his hand back through his hair. “Then one of you, usually it's Luther, will inevitably open your mouth and I'll be forced to remember."

Diego growled and looked ready to attack him but Five ignored him and carried on with his speech. 

"Do you not remember how long it took her just to sand it down? And that's not even counting how long it took her to varnish and stain the damn thing. Are you seriously telling me you think we can do something like that before anyone notices?”

“Can't you do that time wammy thing Ben says your future kids did to fix the mansion? He said they fixed a human-sized hole."

“….." Five froze and stared at him in disbelief. "Please tell me you’re not serious. One, it’s not whammying and two, genetics don’t work like that. There are mutations and variables, all kinds of factors and that’s not even taking into account the way Vanya’s powers will affect or manifest in them…” He paused when he noticed the clueless and utterly uncomprehending looks on his brother’s faces and sighed. “It’s…. Complicated.”

“In other words, you can’t do it and have no idea why.” Diego said smirking. 

“That is not what I said!” Five immediately retorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“It kinda was, Five.” Klaus said, his face mirroring the smirk on Diego's. "Oh wow, this is kinda awesome. Five actually doesn’t know something for a change. He's just as clueless as we are."

“I never said...you know what? I don’t care, you think what you want. My point stands. There is no way I can fix this before they see it.” 

“Fix what?” Luther asked innocently as he came in through the back door, shrugged out of his coat and carelessly tossed it into one of the wooden chairs. 

“Nothing.” Diego answered a bit too fast and defensively. 

Luther turned to Five and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him as he deposited the single can of Yams he was holding on the shelf next to him. 

“They aren’t going to like that.” Five informed him, raising his own eyebrow. 

“I know,” Luther sighed, his shoulders slumping, “Allison said no cans but it was the best I could do. You have no idea what it’s like out there. They should post warnings. Nothing is open… literally nothing. I went to six different stores before I found a Walgreens, of all places, and this was all they had. I had to fight an old lady for it. She literally tried to claw me to death.”

He brandished his wrist, waving it wildly in front of Five’s face as if he was showing off a war wound.

“If it’s not good enough, they’ll just have to go get it themselves. I’m done.” Diego, who had been suspiciously silent up until that point (at least in Luther's mind) snickered. 

“So Number One can’t even manage to find a non-canned vegetable?”

Luther snorted. “You know, before I fought the old lady, I might have taken offense to that… Now, not so much.”

Five could practically feel the disappointment coming off of Diego from Luther’s failure to rise to the bait and he sighed as he felt a headache start to build up behind his eyes. 

"Where are the girls anyway?” Luther asked, deciding it was better to get his canned yam bit over with now.

"In the kitchen.” Diego snorted. “Apparently, we were getting in the way, so Allison sent us out here to the dining room to peel and chop vegetables." 

Luther snorted a laugh, then picked his sad can up and made his way towards the door that joined the kitchen to the dining room. He had just reached for the knob when Allison came bursting through the door. 

“Diego where are those potatoes! Seriously, it can't be taking you an hour to peel a couple of potatoes.”

“It can, when he’s throwing knives and mutilating tables.” Klaus snickered half under his breath. Diego brandished another knife at him and Klaus mimed zipping his lips.

Allison visibly paused when she noticed Luther standing right in front of her and bit her lip. Things had been tense with them lately. Ever since her daughter from the future had shown up, not looking a thing like him and had seemed to have no interest in talking to him, things ...hadn't been the same. 

“Oh, Luther...I’m glad you’re back. Ben needs those Yams so he can put them in the oven. They should have been in there over an hour ago.”

He winced and slowly held up his sad but hard-won can. 

“Nothing was open.” he explained. “This was all I could find.”

“Oh.” she said, her nose scrunching up in dislike. “There must be some kind of variation on the recipe, I’ll tell Ben. Maybe he can find something on the internet. In the meantime, since Diego can’t seem to get the potatoes peeled, help him. We actually do need them done today.”

Diego opened his mouth to protest but Vanya poked her head around the door and frowned when she saw Five’s face. Shuffling her way around Allison, who was looking at her questioningly, she made her way over to him and then brought her hand up to his cheek. 

“Another headache?” she asked worriedly as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She brought her hands to his temples and began to move her thumbs in slow circles pressing into them lightly. 

“Umhmm.” he muttered, sighing in relief.

“Was it another…?”

“No.” he interrupted, his voice firm as he opened his eyes and gave her a stern look. He didn’t want to have to explain the flashbacks or the second set of memories that he seemed to possess to the others just yet. He would eventually have to but for right now, he just wanted to spend some time with his family, being the normal brother they knew and (hopefully) loved before he had to let them in on the things he was experiencing due to his 'little trip' and forced stay in the future. 

Vanya gave him a worried look and then ran her fingers back through his hair.

“We'll be done soon. The turkey has like fifteen more minutes and then Allison just has to finish the potatoes. Then we can eat and go have a nap."

"I’m fine,” he told her, softening his voice and eyes. “It’s just the stress of all this togetherness. I’m ju…"

_Suddenly, he was in another room and a much more tired, older and care worn looking Vanya stood in front of him. Her body language was completely closed off and her amber eyes were full of sadness and...This was a mistake, he shouldn’t have come here. He knew he shouldn’t have come here, she was too young, she didn’t... couldn’t understand. But she was Vanya and it had been so long. And....he needed her. He couldn’t help it. He… just needed her…. he needed her but she wasn't… she didn't... couldn't understand, she was too young and he….._

_“I haven’t seen you in a long time.” she told him in a dead, passionless voice that made him want to scream in protest. “And I don’t want to lose you again. That’s all.” This wasn’t his Vanya. His Vanya was fire and passion and...she would have knocked him into next week if he’d even thought about leaving her, so what was happening what… “And you know what it’s getting late and..I have lessons in the morning and I need to sleep. I’m sure you do too. Here," she began to make up the couch so he would have a place to sleep. “We’ll talk in the morning again okay? I promise.” He watched her go to her bedroom, bidding her a goodnight, fully knowing there wouldn’t be a tomorrow. By the time she woke up, he’d be long gone and he…._

"Five!! FIVE!" His cheek stung and he groaned as he looked up and saw six faces staring down at him in worry. His head was resting in Vanya's lap and he could feel her stroking his forehead, pulling his hair back away from his face. 

"Are you back yet?" she asked in a trembling voice. 

"Yes,” his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed “I…"

"What the Hell was that?!” Diego demanded, his fear manifesting as anger.

Five ignored him and looked up at Vanya, _his Vanya_ and sighed in relief. He sat up and pulled her into a desperate hug, uncaring of their siblings incredulous and worried stares.

“It was the first time I...he talked to his Vanya since being back. She was...so broken and he was too and I…Jesus, Fuck.” He sniffed and rubbed his face with the hill of his hand. “That was the worst one yet. I was… I was him and I was seeing and thinking everything he saw and thought.”

“Everything who saw and thought?” Allison asked.

“The other me. The one from the other timeline. The one that would have existed if I hadn’t decided to change it. I get flashes sometimes. Glimpses of that life.” He looked up and one by one met each of their eyes. “Believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to have lived that life. We didn’t survive it.” 

He sighed and leaned back into Vanya. “It’s never...been this vivid before though. Its always just been pictures or flashes. This time I was...living it.” He turned to Vanya. “He ...I loved you so much even then. You were the only thing that made sense to him and he...couldn’t stand it when you... weren’t you.”

She sniffed and hugged him a bit tighter. “I’m okay.” he told her gruffly, embarrassed at what he saw as a moment of weakness. He pulled back from her and pushed himself up and back onto his feet. 

“Really I’m okay. Stop looking at me like someone died. We have a Holiday Dinner to finish making, don’t we?” 

“We’re not done talking about this Five.” Luther started, “If your si..”

“We’re done talking about it, if I say we’re done talking about it.” Five stated flatly, narrowing his eyes. “And it’s going to stay that way until I’m good and ready for it to change.” He turned to Allison and frowned. “Ally, how much longer is it until we can eat?” 

“Oh umm,” she looked shocked but extremely pleased and touched at Five’s use of a nickname for her then glanced at Luther wearily. “We just have to finish the potatoes.” she said, turning her eyes back to Five. “Ben was going to make a sweet potato casserole but we can wait on that if you want, I guess. “

Five turned his eyes to Ben, who smiled worriedly back at him. “It’s fine.” he told him, “I can make it some other time.”

“You sure?” He asked seriously. 

“Yeah, I’m positive.” Ben told him with an easy-going grin. “Vanya and Allison have outdone themselves. We have tons of food already. No one’s going to notice one less casserole.”

Five breathed a sigh of relief and then sent his own smile back. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get the potatoes done so we can eat already.”

And so they did. And for the first time in their lives, the Hargreeves kids had a Holiday dinner that wasn’t full of mission interruptions or silence or records of ancient men filling the air with information they didn’t care about and would never use. Instead, it was full of laughter and camaraderie and dare I say it... Love. 

“Back off Luther, I’m cutting the Turkey. You don’t even have a knife.” Diego shouted. 

“God knows where any knife you have has been!” Luther protested. “Allison brought one out with the turkey, I’ll just use that.” 

“Both of you shut up. Here, Ben, you cut the damn thing.” Five relented. 

“What the Hell is that MARK IN THE MIDDLE OF MY TABLE!! WHAT DID YOU IDIOTS DO?!”

Klaus smiled that whimsical happy smile in the way that only he could and slowly began to hum and sing around his bite of pie.

“_Suuuuuuuuper Turkey he always gets away, Suuuuuuuper Turkey he always gets away~”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for the Thanksgiving bit. I hope you liked it. Next comes Christmas. Reviews are appreciated and they help keep me motivated. Also I should have an update for two worlds soon. I just have to get it edited.


	3. Merry Christmas / I'm in Jail

This was insane. 

“Turn to your right.” Five bristled at the authoritative voice but managed to bite his tongue and stave off the instinctive retort that was sitting on the end of it just begging to be flung. He then turned to his right and flinched when a flash went off causing colored spots to dance in front of his eyes.

Insane and not happening.

“Now turn to your left,” the voice demanded again. He complied only to be blinded as the flash went off again and they took another picture of his left profile.

He was going to kill Klaus. He was going to kill him slowly. Then, when he inevitably came back to life, Vanya was going to murder them both. He flinched again as the officer pulled him by his arms causing the cuffs they had put on him to chafe his wrists. They walked him down a hall and led him to a cell where he could see both Ben and Klaus waiting for him on opposite sides.

“Oh, come on Benjamin it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad..” Ben demanded outraged. “Not ..that ..bad...KLAUS we’re IN JAIL. _In JAIL! As in don't drop the soap JAIL!_ It’s a week until Christmas, and I can't stress this enough, _WE’RE IN JAIL!_ How is anything about this not bad? Do you have any idea what’s going to happen once the word gets out? We were part of the Umbrella Academy Klaus! There are going to be pictures.. and reporters and God knows what else we….”

"You're overreacting,” Klaus trilled, “It’ll be fine." He perked up when the cop took the handcuffs off Five and shoved him in beside them.

"Five tell Ben he's overreacting and we're going to be fine."

Five ignored him in favor of staring out the bars in disbelief. He was in jail! He was in Fucking Jail! He was supposed to be out Christmas shopping with Vanya right now. Out fighting off the crowds and helping her pick out what Twelve was going to wake up to on Christmas morning. Yet, he was here with both Klaus and Ben _in jail_. How had this happened? 

Well, it started like this. 

He’d woken up that morning to find Twelve’s tiny arm thrown over his face and Vanya’s freezing hands planted firmly against the small of his back. Twelve had had a nightmare that night and kept insisting that the white-haired Lady was going to get her. It was probably just a child’s fancy but he’d only ever encountered one lady with white hair. Call him crazy but it made both him and Vanya nervous. Nervous enough that they had wanted to keep her close and had given in, allowing her to sleep with them the rest of the night. Sitting up he adjusted the limbs of his tiny six-year-old so she was sleeping snuggly under his blanket curled up against her very pregnant mother. He then moved downstairs towards his living room where the source of his waking waited. 

Marching towards his door he wondered who on earth would be ringing his doorbell at this ungodly hour. He opened his door then froze in surprise at who he found waiting there. Both Ben and Klaus were standing on the other side dressed in coats and hats leaning against opposite sides of his door.

“No,” Five said, steadily slamming his door. Whatever it was could wait until a reasonable hour. 

"Oh come on, Five," Klaus whined knocking on the door. "It's cold out here." 

Five ignored him and began to make his way back to the bedroom where he could hopefully get a few more hours of sleep when Klaus started ringing the doorbell.

"Alright alright," he hissed flinging the door open. “Stop with the bell. You'll wake Vanya and Twelve.”

"What do you want?" he asked in an exasperated voice as he let them in and made his way to the kitchen. Coffee. He needed coffee! Lots of coffee if he was going to make it through this morning without killing anyone. 

"Hey don't look at me," Ben told him falling into a kitchen chair and looking to be two seconds from falling asleep himself. "This wasn't my idea. I'm just the driver.”

Klaus made a silly, ‘oh you’ gesture as Five carefully measured out teaspoons of the magic ground bean powder that was going to keep him from murdering his brothers and then turned on his coffee maker. Sighing he made his way to the table and fell into one of the chairs himself.

“It’s a week until Christmas Five and we couldn’t help but notice that you don’t have a Christmas Tree yet.” Klaus announced in an affronted sounding voice. “That just won’t do.”

Five bristled a bit. He and Vanya were going to get a Christmas tree they just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. With all the things going on between the doctor’s visits for Vanya’s pregnancy and all the new things they were experiencing with Twelve starting school they just hadn’t found the time yet. He opened his mouth to protest but Klaus ignored him and soldiered on. 

“So we,” (Ben made a half-hearted protesting sound at the word we) “_So we,_” Klaus stressed glaring at the sleepy Ben, “decided to come over here and help fix the situation.” 

Oh, this was bad. Five felt a chill roll up his spine and a very bad feeling settled itself over him. Whenever any of his siblings tried to fix something it usually ended up with things being worse off than they originally were. He briefly remembered a particular time when Allison decided to play beautician and “fix” all of their hair… The image of Luther’s shiny bald head sprung to the forefront of his mind and he shuddered. He firmly shoved that horrific memory to the back of his mind where it belonged and turned back to this new disaster that was just waiting to happen right in front of him. 

“We’re going to get a tree,” he promised fervently. “We just haven’t had the time yet. But I promise we’re going to get a tree. You really don’t have to try to fix anything.” 

“Pish,” Klaus told him. “It’ll be fun. We’ll be gone and back before Vanya or Teenie even wake up. We’ll get the tree, help you set it up, and then you’ll get to watch their faces when they come downstairs and find the best damn Christmas tree all set up in your living room just waiting for them to decorate it.” 

This was bad. This was such a bad bad idea...but they didn’t have a tree yet...And he and Vanya were supposed to go Christmas shopping later that day. She wasn’t supposed to have any undue stress what with the twins being due next month. It was a critical month for them. Twins were often born early and Vanya’s doctor wanted to make sure they had as much time in the womb as they needed and possibly could get. If he could get the tree and have it all set up and waiting for her, like Klaus was suggesting, then it would be one less thing for her to worry about. It sounded like a good, reasonable, and solid idea. The problem was reasonable solid ideas often screamed bloody murder and fled at the first sight of his siblings. Biting his lip in indecision he looked up to find Ben’s sympathetic, commiserating face staring back at him and realized he’d already accepted his fate. Sighing he got up fished the thermos Twelve had proudly handed him for Father’s day out of their cabinet and began to fill it with his freshly brewed coffee. 

“Well?” Klaus asked fidgeting in his seat. He was starting to get ansty at Five’s continued silence and couldn’t help but show it.

“I'm going to need this if we’re going to be spending any great amount of time cooped up together in a car,” Five said screwing the lid on his thermos. “Just let me go get my coat and we can leave.”

Ten minutes later found them in Ben’s car as they made their way to the nearest tree farm. Naturally, it being 3 am, the place was closed.

“Well, that was a bust,” Ben said as they made their way back to his car and he unlocked the doors.

“Should have expected it.” Five told them matter of factly as they slid into their seats and he put on his seat belt. He felt around the floor until he found his thermos and opened the lid. “It is Three Am.” he said breathing in, as the intoxicating scent of the coffee filled the air. “No one sane is up right now.”

“You’d think their whole business revolving around Christmas and it being a week away from that would motivate them to be open,” Klaus grumbled. He pulled his phone out and settled back into his seat. “Well, no matter, there are more where that came from. ONWARD BEN TO THE NEXT TREE FARM!!”

Ben sighed then leaned over and snatched Five’s thermos out of his hands, causing him to give a disgruntled exclamation, and chugged it. Sighing he wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand then handed it back with a muttered “sorry.” He started the car making sure to turn the heater on full blast and slowly pulled out of the parking lot oblivious to the incredulous stare Five was sending his way.

"What?” he asked defensively.

“You realize how hot that coffee was right?” Five asked in disbelief 

“Uh-huh,” Ben answered keeping his eyes on the road. 

“You know it was boiling when I put it in there right?” 

“Uh-huh,” Ben answered again. “I needed it.” 

Five sent him another incredulous look then glanced down at the thermos lid in his hand. He gave it a skeptical look shrugged then poured some of the coffee into it. Taking an experimental drink he had to force himself not to cry out in betrayal. Mentally he cursed up a blue streak as fire trailed across his tongue and down his throat and he realized the coffee was just as hot as he remembered it being. 

"You okay there Five?" Klaus asked, his green eyes dancing with amusement as he pushed his face up between the front seats. Five coughed and his blue eyes watered as he turned a glare on Klaus. 

"I’m fine," he stated gruffly, trying hard not to cough again. Klaus gave a tiny snicker then looked back down at his phone. 

“Turn up here Ben,” He said pushing himself further forward so that he was nearly straddling the seats, “Right here at the next corner,” he looked down at his phone again. “The Gps says the closest Tree farm is another 3 miles that way.” He pointed wildly to his left and Ben cursed as he forced the steering wheel to his left only to let out a muffled cry of fear as the car skid more to the left than he intended. He realized they’d hit a stray patch of ice. Five’s stomach swooped up to meet his throat and he could feel the thermos starting to slip through his suddenly too cold fingers as the car swerved and Ben had to force himself not to hit the breaks. He pulled his foot off the accelerator and it took everything he had to keep the steering wheel straight, praying the car would come to stop on its own. 

It did. They slowly coasted to a stop two seconds before the road ended. They would have ended up plowing through some poor person’s yard and house if the car had kept going.

“Jesus Fucking Christ!” Five exclaimed loudly,breathing hard. His now freezing hands gripped onto the thermos for dear life. He turned his head to look at poor Ben who was still clutching the steering wheel as if his life depended on it and he guessed in a way all of theirs had.

"Well," Klaus said, his eyes as big as saucers, a maniacal grin covering the entirety of his face. “I guess we should be thankful for the hazardous driving lessons Dad insisted be included in our training."

Both Ben and Five turned wide disbelieving eyes on him and they stared for several incredulous seconds. Suddenly it was as if a dam burst and they exploded into heartfelt adrenaline-fueled laughter breaking the stress-filled bubble that had filled the car.

Ben sighed and leaned forward resting his head against the steering wheel breathing heavily and closing his eyes. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and looked up to find Five’s ice-blue eyes staring back at him worriedly. He managed to smile shakily back at him then moved back into his seat and put the car in gear. 

Klaus sighed and Leaned back into his seat and started to fiddle with his phone again.

_ **You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid And Donner and Blitzen But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all?~** _

Five audibly groaned and the first strings of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ began to rise up and fill the car with its cheery melody. Twelve had learned the song at school earlier this month and had taken to singing it on repeat. The first week it was cute the second it had started to get old and by the third…..well it had taken everything he had not to ‘jump’ to the north pole find the red-nosed degenerate and put him out of his misery.

"Could you find something else?" Five asked trying not to twitch and to keep his voice civil. If Klaus found out the song was getting to him he'd never hear the end of it. Ben snorted in sympathy as he pulled out on the road again and Five could have sworn he heard him murmur “good luck with that” under his breath.

"Awww what’s wrong with Rudolph?" Klaus asked. “It’s an awesome Christmas song.” He then began to sing along with the music in a slightly off-key way that Five was certain he was doing on purpose just to irritate him. It continued on this way until they made it to the next tree farm which, just like the one before it, was closed. Same story with the next one and the next. And the next. By the time they had made it to the Seventh one, Five was really starting to regret his life choices. It was getting later in the day and he realized that even if the next one they found was open there was no way he was going to have a tree up by the time his rambunctious six-year-old (and her mother by extension) woke up and was bouncing around his house happily. Klaus was on what had to be his 30th rendition of Rudolph when Five finally opened his mouth and let them know it was time to go home. 

_ **“They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games” ** _

“Klaus,” Five tried to interrupt 

** _“Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say~”_ **

“Klaus?!” He tried again.

_**"Rudolph, with your nose s**_…..” 

“Klaus!!!!” He finally yelled at the end of his rope. He was tired and cranky and to be honest he was so done with this day. It wasn’t even 7 AM yet and all he wanted to do was go crawl back into bed with his wife and sleep. 

“Jeeze Five, I’m right here. You didn’t have to yell if you wanted something all you had to do was ask…”

Five gritted his teeth, employed his counting backward from 10 strategy that he used with all of his siblings when they were being difficult, and then sighed.

“It’s time to go home.” He told them flatly. “Vanya and Twelve are probably already up by now and even if they weren’t it’s too late to get something set up before they wake up.” 

“Aww Five. No, we can’t give up just yet. There’s still one more tree farm left.” He frowned his face giving off genuine distress and Five pinched the bridge of his nose in indecision. 

“It’s just one more place. What could it hurt,” Ben asked glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. “At best you’ll have a tree to drag home and show Vanya. At worst, you rack up an hour or two more bonding time with us.”

Five glanced back at Klaus, who was looking back at him with hopeful green eyes, and sighed. His face softened when he realized he couldn’t really tell them ‘no.’

“Alright,” he answered, “We can go to one more but that’s it. I have other stuff I’m supposed to be doing today and as much ‘fun’ as this has been I don’t really relish facing Vanya’s wrath if I’m not there to actually do them.” Klaus snickered and made a whipping sound but shut his mouth pretty fast when Five sent a frosty blue glare back at him. 

An hour later found them pulling into an empty parking lot that was full of undisturbed snow. It was eerie how quiet and still everything was here and suddenly that bad feeling Five had felt back at the house returned 10 fold. He debated telling the other two to get back in the car. Thathe’d changed his mind and they were going home. He’d actually gotten so far as to open his mouth to do just that when heard Klaus crow in triumph. 

“Finally,” he cried happily. “We’ve found one that’s open.” The door leading into the main office was unlocked and before Five had a chance to call out and stop him Klaus was through the door and out of sight. Cursing he grabbed Ben’s arm. It was a testament to how worried he was when he had to stop himself from using his powers and jumping them into the building grabbing Klaus and jumping them back out again.

“Something’s wrong isn’t it,” Ben asked his amber eyes narrowing as they made their way to the door Klaus had disappeared into. 

“I’m not sure,” Five answered tentatively reaching out and opening the door. “Something just feels off.” They made their way further into the room and Five was relieved to find Klaus leaning against the counter loudly talking to a guy at the front desk.

“I mean it is a Christmas tree farm, right? It’s your job to take us out to look at the trees and cut one down for us.”

“Look man I ain’t got to do nothin. You want a tree you’re going to have to go find and cut one down yourself.”

“Fine!” Klaus said indignantly his green eyes flashing angrily, “We will. Just don’t expect any tips from us.” 

The man shrugged carelessly then turned his grime-covered face back down towards the register in what was a clear dismissal and Five felt that little shiver of awareness he hadn’t felt since his academy mission days slide down his back. He was more than ready to leave. Unfortunately, Klaus had decided to take the clerk’s rudeness as a challenge and was even more determined to find the best damn Christmas tree on the lot. He marched over to the corner of the room where an axe was leaning up against the wall.

“Well, we can at least use your equipment right?” Klaus called back to the attendant angrily “Right? I mean since we’re paying you full price and you’re still practically making us do it all ourselves?” The man looked up from the register and glared.

"Dude, seriously. Take it I really don't care what you do."

Klaus grabbed up the axe, grumbled, and then made his way to the door leading out to the field. Ben looked at Five warily but shrugged when he realized they had no other choice but to follow him.

“Klaus?!” Five called, cursing the fact that the clerk was obviously watching them. Otherwise, he would have teleported in front of him and ended this stupid chase before it had even begun.

He and Ben finally made it out the doors and managed to catch up to Klaus who was by now walking up and down a row of trees. 

"Can you believe that guy," Klaus asked in outrage when they were finally in hearing distance. "Wanting us to cut down our own tree? I mean what kind of service is that? Hasn't he ever heard of the customer is always right?"

“I don't think he cares about customer service Klaus,” Ben said casting a worried look back towards the main building. Klaus scoffed but then perked up. 

"Well never mind him we have a tree to find. Do you see any of them you like?" he asked Five earnestly, excited energy pouring off of him in waves.

At this point, Five was so ready to be gone his mind was already in the parking lot shoving his brothers in the car beside him. He opened his mouth to inform Klaus they needed to go when he saw it.

It was a beautiful 6 foot tall Douglas Fir and he knew the second he saw it that it belonged in his living room. Vanya would love it. It was the kind of tree they had only been able to dream about having when they were kids trapped in that ancient mausoleum Hargreeves liked to call a house. 

"This one,” he breathed as he made his way over to it. “It's this one."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked, "I mean it's not that tall and this is a tree farm there have to be hundreds of trees here for us to look at."

“I’m sure,” Five announced. “It’s this one.”

Klaus pouted a bit but then shrugged it off. His excited manic energy filling him up again. “Well, I guess that means we need to cut it down, then.” He brandished the axe and began to move towards the tree. 

“Wait!” Five cried in horror. “Do you even have any idea what you’re doing?”

"Of course, I do,” Klaus answered as if it was obvious. “I'm going to cut down this tree"

"That's not what I meant and you know it. ” Five grumped. “Have you ever even cut down a tree before?"

"Well no,” Klaus answered, “But how hard could it be? You just...lift up the axe and swing." 

"Gimme that," Five said taking the ax from him. "You can't just be careless with it you'll split the trunk." He lifted the axe ready to show them how to do it when they heard a commotion coming from the main building. 

"HEY!! HEY!! WHAT DO YOU THREE YAHOO'S THINK YOUR DOING!! HEY GUYS, GUYS!! COME HERE QUICK THERE ARE THREE MORE OF THEM BACK HERE IN THE TREE FIELD!”

Several cops came bursting out the door of the main building brandishing their guns. And demanding that they drop their weapons. Five, Ben, and Klaus watched in stunned disbelief as they were charged by a sea of blue. 

There was a split second where the training Dad had given them kicked in and Five had a chance to teleport away from all this madness but it would have meant leaving Ben and Klaus behind and while he wished he was anywhere but here he couldn't do that. 

He had just enough time to wonder what Vanya would do about the Christmas shopping now and murmur a “Well Fuck,” before he was slammed to the ground and cuffs were roughly placed on his wrists. He could hear Klaus protesting in the background and he closed his eyes as they started reading him his rights.

That led him back here, to this moment, staring out the bars of the cell in disbelief while Klaus and Ben bickered between themselves in the background. “Shut up both of you, ”Five murmured tiredly. This was such a Fucked up situation. By now Vanya had to be awake and wondering where he was. How the hell was he supposed to tell her he was in jail for…. trying to buy a Christmas tree. And since when was that a crime anyway? He sighed dejectedly and threw himself down onto the nearest bench.

_ **You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen~** _

“Jesus fucking christ,” he gave a sarcastic laugh and rubbed at his eyes as ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ started playing on the overhead speakers. This was it, this had to be what people meant when they talked about rock bottom. At least things couldn't get any worse from here.

"Well well well what do we have here?" A familiar smug and taunting voice reached his ears. "This is a very interesting situation."

He was wrong. He was so very very wrong. This could get sooo much worse. This had to be a dream because Five didn't think even fate could be this much of a bitch. He groaned and tried to bury his face further into his hands. 

“You know I expect this sort of thing from Klaus, and let's face it Ben usually gets pulled along into his shenanigans. But you Five? I expected better from you.” 

"Diego," Klaus cried in delight. “Are you here to get us out?”

Diego ignored him still focusing on Five and this very rare opportunity to tease him,"I couldn't believe it when Dora called telling me I had to get here quick because they'd arrested the three of you on suspicion of robbery. I mean you of all people Five? You’re Mister family man. You’re supposed to be the ‘smart one.’"

Five groaned again keeping his face buried in his hands wishing that the floor would just open up and swallow him. 

Diego snickered but Ben was beyond done with this whole situation. He’d been up since two AM. Driven for miles. Lost control of his car and nearly gotten himself and two of his brothers killed. He’d been attacked by policemen and worst of all he was in fucking jail. It was a testament to his will power that he hadn't lost control of his tenants and killed everyone in the room yet.

“Enough Diego," he hissed his amber eyes burning. “Are you here to get us out or not?”

Diego pouted a bit. He would deny it to his dying day but later whenever anyone told this story they made sure to point out that he'd done it. He pouted a bit then sighed and pushed his hand back through his hair. 

“You guys have no idea how lucky you are that Dora was here. She managed to call me and ‘lose’ your paperwork before anyone recognized you. You’re also free to go,” he told them moving forward and opening the cell. “It was all a big misunderstanding. The tree farm you were at was being robbed. The guy you talked to at the front desk had somehow managed to snatch the keys from the actual desk clerk the night before and you showed up, right as he was helping himself to the cash register. Somehow you managed to set off the silent alarm and that's how we knew something was wrong.”

“Your car’s parked out front. ”He said tossing Ben his keys, “Dora managed to keep it from being impounded.”

Ben thanked him and then moved out the front door of the police station Klaus following close behind.

“Oh and Five,” he called stopping Five before he was out the door. “Let me know if you guys still want us to babysit tonight. Grace (his and Eudora’s three year old daughter) was really looking forward to her playdate with Twelve. “

Five nodded and then was out the door as fast as he could get his feet to move. The only thing stopping him from teleporting was the many pedestrians it would scare.

"Take Me Home," he told Ben as he slid into the passenger seat. Ben nodded and started the car. The ten-minute ride back to his house was made in complete silence. 

He opened the car door and turned towards his house. The lights were all on and he knew everyone was up. 

“Hey, Five” Klaus called worriedly. Five turned back to him with a raised eyebrow and Klaus bit his lip in obvious anxiety

”..I…” he faltered and Five shook his head and smirked. 

“Go home you idiot,” he told him affectionately “I’ll see you next Tuesday for Christmas.”

Klaus gave a relieved and happy laugh as he slid into the front seat next to Ben who was smiling at Five through his windshield. He raised his hand in a silent goodbye then backed out of the driveway and went home. 

_“This family is al lot of things,” _Five thought as he made his way up his walk and into his house, “_Crazy, Mental, and Fanatical just to name a few.”_

A cry of “Daddy” startled him as he opened the front door and caught the tiny body that hurled itself at him, up and into his arms. 

“Where did you go,” a sleepy voice asked as Vanya waddled into the room, made her way over to him, and pulled him into a hug. He kissed her forehead and she rested her face in his neck.

_They had issues up the wazoo and ideas that made him cringe sometimes. But they were his and he wouldn’t change them for the world._

“Five,” Vanya ask peeking up at him from his neck.

“Yeah,” he answered. 

“We really need to get a Christmas Tree.”

“Fjkfjkljdfksla;fjdkls;a”...........His brain fritzed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Everyone. Or Happy Holidays whichever you prefer. I hope you enjoyed this. Stay tuned for New Years. As always comments and Kudos are appreciated and keep me writing :P


	4. Auld Lang Syne

The first time he can remember becoming aware of the fact that things like Holidays existed, was when he was ten. It wasn’t a groundbreaking or world-shattering discovery and really, to be honest, it was, and probably would have remained, a meaningless footnote in the long line of footnotes of his life, if it hadn’t been for one thing: Vanya. 

He’d been sitting in the library, his head buried in Michael B. Green’s 'Superstring Theory', trying not to scoff too hard at the theories and ideas the book put forth. Was this really the cutting edge of scientific knowledge?

**It has been realized for a long time that the inconsistency of general relativity and quantum mechanics probably requires a radical modification of theories at short distances. This can be seen from a simple application of the Heisenberg 122 M.B. Green uncertainty relation at the incredibly small distance scales around the Planck length ( ...... 10-35 metres). At this scale the energy fluctuations are so great that…**

“There’s no use thinking on it, Allison, you know Dad would never…"

“I don’t care, Ben,” Allison's upset voice cut through the air, interrupting his reading. "It sounds magical. I mean, we already missed the big one, with all the lights and the presents….. Surely he could let us have one of the little ones. I’ve been reading about them and New Years’ sounds interesting. It’s…."

Five groaned. Allison was on her soapbox again. He cursed and tried to bury himself back into his book. Ever since that air-headed reporter had opened her big mouth and asked them how and which of the holidays they celebrated, she’d become obsessed. 

**...the energy fluctuations are so great, that according to general relativity, microscopic virtual black holes form, in which case the structure of the theory ceases to have much meaning. In string theories, this problem is avoided by….**

“What’s Christmas and New Years?” a little voice, that no matter what he did, somehow never failed to catch and hold his attention, asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Allison answered in the superior tone, that she always used when speaking to her sister. “There’s no way Dad will let us do anything, if he thinks you're involved in it.”

"Oh." Vanya said softly, in that dispirited little voice, that meant she was hurt and made him want to kill something. He gritted his teeth, slammed his book closed and began to gather the notes and stray papers around him. 

“As usual, Ben is right.” he snapped, his face a mask of stone as he sauntered up to them. “There’s no way Dad's going to let any of us do anything that might distract from our ‘ultimate potential’ and you know it. You’d be better off just giving up on it now.”

“No one asked you Five.” Allison exclaimed, a frown settling itself firmly on her face as she rounded on him in a huff. "Just because you’ve given up on having nice things, doesn’t mean the rest of us have."

Knowing that ignoring her would mess with her way more than anything he could say, he didn’t bother retorting and turned his attention back to Vanya. Her fists were clenched in her skirt and he could tell she was trying to make herself as small as possible. 

“It's too loud in here,” he announced his blue eyes going soft and his mouth raising in a half-smirk as Allison huffed angrily. “I'm going to the music room where it’s quieter. Come play for me?” Vanya peered up at him through dark lashes, her eyes big and hopeful but with a weary tint that let him know she was waiting for the punchline. 

Mentally cursing their father and his siblings to Hell and back, he reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair. "I think I heard you practicing last night. It was D'Ambrosio, right?" Vanya nodded and her whole face lit up in a smile and for a second, it was like he couldn’t breathe. 

“You know about Alfredo D'Ambrosio?” She asked surprised.

“Well, of course, I do,” he said in a snooty voice as he put his hand in the small of her back and led her out the door. “I thought it was obvious by now. I know everything.” 

\-----------

“You shouldn’t let her get to you,” He told her later, when she had finished her playing and was lowering her Violin back into its case. She stiffened for a minute but seemed to shake herself then caressed the neck before she lowered the lid and snapped the latches closed.

“I try not to,” she said, turning big amber eyes on him and then coming to sit beside him. "And mostly I succeed, but then she’ll open her mouth again and I just…urgh.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. "What did she mean by 'New Years' anyway?” 

“Do you remember that interview Dad had us go to last weekend?” he asked. She nodded keeping her eyes closed. And he continued. “Well, there was a reporter there, who didn’t seem willing to follow the script Dad sits out for them. She wanted to show our human side or some silly nonsense like that and asked what we were doing for the Holidays. None of us had a clue what to say and she seemed horrified. She started explaining in great detail about Holidays: what Halloween was, Christmas and New Year’s that came afterward. And those were just the ones she celebrated. Apparently, there are hundreds more, depending on what part of the world and what religion you proclaim to. Naturally, Allison latched onto it and has been trying to figure out a way to get Dad to let us celebrate one ever since."

“What...what did she say you do for them?” 

“Different things. Halloween, you dress up like an idiot and pretend to be something or someone you’re not. Christmas is all about peace and love. She said you bring an actual tree inside your living room, decorate it with lights and colorful balls then put gifts under it for the people you love. Honestly, it all sounds rather overdone to me.”

“What about the one Allison wants to celebrate now, New Years?” 

“Fireworks,” he answered flatly. “The reporter said people set off fireworks and stay up to an insane hour so they can greet the new year."

“It sounds nice." Vanya said softly, opening her eyes and peering up at him. "And pretty."

“Hmm, very pretty." he agreed, staring into her eyes. He shook himself then pushed his hand back through his hair and cleared his throat.

“If you’re into that kind of thing. Which apparently, Allison is.”

“I wonder if she’ll talk Dad into letting you celebrate it.”

He glanced up sharply at her use of the word _**You**_, a tendril of anger rose up inside of him, at the thought that even _**she**_ was excluding herself from them now. 

“If she does," he told her, unable to keep the sneer out of his voice. "it will be because she rumored him. You know how he is, when it comes to things he sees as distractions. This would definitely be a distraction.”

“Still," she sighed, "it might have been nice to see.”

“Maybe.” he gave a half-smile and then looked at her with a pondering expression. She turned to him, meeting his eyes and then faltered a bit as the air around them changed. It charged and seemed to come alive with something neither of them were ready for or understood.

There was a crash in the background and Klaus’s wild laughter, along with Diego’s curses suddenly drifted through the closed door of the music room, breaking their moment. 

“We have to go.” Five told her, shaking his head and looking at his watch. "Dinner starts in a couple of minutes and God knows what he’ll do if we’re late." He stood up and held out his hand for her. 

Vanya looked at him in surprise but reached out and took it, letting him pull her to her feet and started for the doorway. 

“Vanya,” he called out, his voice cracking and an octave too high. "Your...umm, your skirt, it's--"

“Oh!” she exclaimed, mortified as she realized what must have happened. She reached behind herself and tugged it down in the back.

“God, I hate these things.” she murmured, her face a bright scarlet, that caused him to smirk just a tiny bit. "This wouldn’t have happened if he’d just let me wear pants like the rest of you. Even Allison gets to wear jeans,” she said pouting, as he moved out of the door. 

He looked at her in a contemplative manner as they made their way down the hallway and she lifted an eyebrow at him. 

“What?” she asked in a weary voice. 

“Nothing,” he answered unable to keep a tiny smile from settling across his face. 

“What?” she asked again an answering smile blooming across her own. 

“Nothing.” he told her again, opening the door to the dining room and leading her inside. 

\-----------

Two nights later, she found a newspaper-wrapped bundle sitting on her bed, waiting for her when she returned to her room after dinner. A note was resting on top and she gingerly lifted and unfolded it. 

Put these on and wait for me. I’ll be there in half an hour. Don’t worry about the cameras, I’ve taken care of them. Be ready.

He didn’t sign it but really he didn’t have too. She would know those blocky letters anywhere. It was Five, the question now was what he was up to. Biting her lip, she undid the cooking thread he’d used as a makeshift ribbon then pulled the pieces of newspaper apart and nearly had a heart attack when she realized what it was concealing. 

There, folded neatly inside the newspapers, was the most perfect pair of blue jeans she’d ever seen. They were almost exactly like the ones she’d seen Allison wearing, except they were a dark navy and they seemed sleeker somehow, more stylish. Barely able to hold in her excitement, she quickly tossed her skirt off and slid into them. She was in heaven. She had to be, because nice surprises like this didn't happen to her. For as long as she could remember, she’d watched, in a sort of muted melancholic jealousy, as they happened to Allison but as a rule, they never happened to her. She smoothed her hands down the side and shivered in delight. They were perfect and even more comfortable than she had imagined. She wished she had a mirror so she could see what she looked like in them. 

The glass in her window rattled in its pane and she turned to it in surprise, wondering if they were due for a windstorm tonight. Tilting her head in puzzlement, she stared at it for a second, waiting to see if it would do it again but ultimately shrugged it off, when the palm of her hand met denim and the allure of having something new and shiny caught her attention again. They were so perfect. A brilliant flash of blue light filled the room and the comforting scent of ozone wafted into her nose.

“Oh good, they fit. I was a little worried but Klaus assur---umph.” she had thrown herself at him, her arms locked around his shoulders in a near stranglehold. 

“Thank you." she told him softly, burying her face in his neck. "Thank you, thank you. Thank you. They’re perfect. I’ve never had anything so perfect.”

He cleared his throat, then brought his arms up around her. “You like them then?" He asked in a hesitant voice. "They’re like the ones Allison has, but I didn't want to get you the exact same pair. She might mistake them for hers and besides….you deserve something unique. I wanted them to be yours.”

“They're perfect, Five.” she told him again, pulling back, letting him go so she could wipe her eyes with her sleeve. “You couldn't have found a better pair. I love them.”

“Well good, I'm glad.” he shook his head, then smirked. “Now come on, get a jacket. It’s likely to be cold where we’re going.”

“We’re leaving the house?” she asked in surprise, moving to her closet and then pulling on her uniform blazer. 

“Uh-huh.” he answered, a smirk settling on his face as he held out his hand. 

“But how are we--”

“Do you trust me?” He asked, knowing the answer, his smirk growing as he held out a hand for her.

“Yes...." she answered tentatively and put her hand in his. 

“Then come on.” He pulled her into his side, and for a second, her world went entirely blue. Her stomach swooped as lightning and electrical currents danced in and out of her field of vision. 

She felt the ground go solid underneath her feet again and had to work not to throw up.

"...anya…..Vanya!!"

“I'm okay.” she mumbled, when she knew she could control her stomach. “I'm okay, I just wasn't ready for it.”

“I should have warned you." he said wincing. "I just…”

“No, no, I’m okay,” she insisted. “It was beautiful. I just need a second to catch my breath.” 

“Is it like that every time you jump?” she asked when she could breathe again.

“Yeah,” he told her. “You get used to it. I had forgotten how disoriented it made me when I was first learning. Sorry.” He helped her to stand up straight. “Can you walk?”

“Yes." she answered, looking around at their surroundings for the first time. “Where are we?” From what she could tell, they were outside and pretty high up, hidden behind some trees in what had to be a field. 

“It’s a surprise.” he told her, taking her hand again. “If I told you, it would ruin it.” He led her around the trees and up a hill, that settled into a clearing. She could hear people below them laughing and just having a good time in general.

“Five?” she asked worriedly. 

“No one should bother us up here.” he assured her, his eyes meeting hers. “I made sure of it, when I came to check earlier.” He led her to the edge of what felt like a cliff, where he had the blankets from his bed waiting for them. “Short of having a helicopter, I'm the only one who could get up here.” 

He plopped himself down on the blanket-covered ground and the sky filled her vision as he pulled her down beside him. 

“Five, what are we doing here? I don’t---” 

“Shh, just wait.” he told her, checking his watch. “It’s about to start.” There was a giant boom and Vanya nearly jumped out of her skin as fire painted the sky a brilliant red and blue and music started booming below them.

A sudden wind stirred up around them and Five’s eyes went wide as he instinctively pulled her closer to him and reassured her. 

“Hey, Hey, it’s okay.” he told her softly. “It's just a firework. This is what we came here for. See, they match the music to them for the show.” Another jet of light spiraled across the sky in front of her, painting his face a dark green and Vanya felt her panic die. 

“You said it might be nice to see them.” he said sheepishly. “So I thought...” the wind died down and she tackled him into a hug. 

“You brought me to see the fireworks?” She asked, her voice breaking. 

“Well, yeah” he answered in a bewildered voice. “I thought it was what you wanted. Was that not right?”

“It's perfect.” she told him, her voice still indicating she was on the edge of tears. ”Five, I don’t know what to say.”

“How about you just sit back, and enjoy the show. We’re missing it with all this sentimental stuff.” He turned his gaze back to the sky, smirking smugly to himself and, if he noticed that Vanya didn't let go of his hand well...he didn't say anything about it. 

She settled into the blankets, her face a mask of wonder and content, the fireworks going off in random intervals, that only the show masters seemed to know, when suddenly it all stopped and the people below them started counting backward from Ten. 

“What are they doing?” Vanya asked curiously, trying to peer over the ledge. 

Seven 

Six 

Five

“I'm not sure.” He answered, leaning over beside her.

Four 

Three 

Two 

One

The sky exploded in colorful light and screams of “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” flew up and around them. The music blared again but this time, it seemed as if the people below them were all singing the same song. 

_Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?_

“It’s beautiful.” Vanya whispered in awe, her eyes shining brightly as the fireworks exploded and spiraled in rapid succession all around them. In the years to come, before she found a way to enter his dreams and save him, it would be this memory he would pull up, to keep himself sane. This vision of light and magic that was Vanya, standing in awed happiness as the colored lights danced and sparkled, bathing her skin in their ethereal light. 

_For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, _

“I wonder what it means.” she whispered, as the fireworks died down and all that was left was the people singing the last lines of the song.

_We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne._

“I'm not sure.” he answered uncertain. “We’ll have to look it up when we get home.” Another cheer went up from the crowd, as they finished the song and the night lit up as they started turning floodlights on to illuminate the stage. The music started up again as a man in a shiny purple suit started to dance and sing about how he was going to party like it’s 1999.

“We should head back.” Five said, as he pushed himself to his feet. He reached his hand out to help Vanya and together they gathered his scattered blankets up. 

“Ready?” he asked, as he pulled her close into his side, giving her plenty warning this time. 

“No.” she answered honestly. She could have happily spent the rest of her life here, contentedly watching the people and fireworks with him.

He opened his mouth, not even knowing what he was going to say. But she shook her head and stopped him. 

“It’s okay.” she told him with a smile. “Today was amazing. A total dream in fact. I know we have to go back. I'm just dreading it.”

“One day, we won’t.” he promised her fervently. “One day, I’ll take you away from that house and we’ll never have to see it or Dad ever again.” She smiled and nodded at him, trying not to let her hopes get the better of her. 

“I mean it, Vanya.” he told her, a frown settling on his face, his blue eyes going hard as he grabbed her shoulders. He didn't understand or know why, but it was suddenly very important that she believed him. “It won't be like this forever. I'm going to take you away from that mausoleum and we’ll travel the world. We’ll go wherever you want to. Hell,” he snickered “we’ll go _**when**_everwe want to. All of time and space will be at our feet. We just have to stay strong and deal long enough for me to figure out what I'm doing so I can get a plan. Understand?” he shook her shoulders a bit. “Vanya…”

“I understand.” she told him, sniffing, her eyes going big and glassy as they were filled with tears. 

_No, No, No, No, dammit!_ She wasn't supposed to be crying, she was supposed to be happy. This night was supposed to be a break from everything and make her happy, not sad. He’d somehow managed to say the wrong thing and now she was crying. Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to him.

“Unless you don't...want to come with me?” His face turned to stone and he began to put on the smug persona that he used as emotional armor, when dealing with the others. “I mean, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You could always just---”

“Shut up, you idiot.” She told him, hitting him hard on the shoulder and then flinging her arms around his neck in a hug. The wind picked up around them and they could hear several of people down below them began to curse and protest as they tried to stop their things from literally blowing away.

“Of course I want to come with you. I just didn’t think you’d want me to.”

“Now who’s being an idiot?” he asked, breathing a sigh of relief and he returned the hug. “I can’t leave you behind. We both know I’d be lost without you, reminding me to put my books down and do mundane tasks like eat or breathe.” She sighed and let her weight rest against him and he took that as a sign that she was ready for him to jump them home. He activated his power and in a whirl of blue, they were standing in the middle of her room again.

“No fair.” she whispered, pulling back from him and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I was looking forward to seeing the sparks and blue light again.” 

He snickered and reached out to tug on her hair. “I don't know about you but I’m tired.” He looked at his watch and cursed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“It’s 1:30. That means we’re going to get maybe four hours of sleep tonight, before mom shows up to wake us for breakfast.” She tried, but couldn't quite manage to stop the yawn that settled itself on her lips and he smirked. “Go to bed, Vanya.” he told her, before getting ready to teleport back to his own room. “Get some sleep. We’re probably going to need it.” 

“It was worth it.” she called out, stopping him in his tracks. “I really did have a good time.”

“Me too.” he told her, softly smiling. “We’re going to have to do this again.” 

“Umhm.” she said, giving him a sleepy and sweet smile as she sat on the edge of her bed and began to take her shoes off. 

“Happy New Year, Vanya.” he told her softly.

“Happy New Year, Five.” she answered back, as the blue light and the smell of ozone flared around her room again. 

They made it their tradition. For the next three years without fail Five would go to Vanya’s room after dinner on New Year’s Eve and they would teleport to the hill, where they would greet the New Year by watching the fireworks and listening to the music. That Fourth-year though…..Well, that was the year Five disappeared. Vanya, unable to let it go proceeded to turn the laws of physics and the entire universe on its head. They spent that night watching them together in their first shared dream. 

_For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...yeah Im super late on this. My only excuse is life hit me with a 2x4. I hope you enjoyed it. Comments and Kudos keep me motivated and writing so they are appreciated XD


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